Why do your customers come to you? Why do they pay you money for your products or services instead of another organization? Why you?
It's a short, two-word question, but its answer could transform the way you operate your business. You see, the answer is what sets you apart from everyone else. It's your brand. It's your unique differentiator. It's your top-of-mind awareness pitch. It's all of those and every other nifty marketing term out there which indicates what benefit you provide your current customers. It also helps potential customers determine whether or not you can help them too.
So how do you find the answer? Listen to your customers. Listen to what they say when they thank you for your products or services. Specifically, what do they appreciate? How did your product help them? Did it save them time, money, effort, re-work, etc? What value did they realize from your services? Did your services solve a problem quickly or did you simply provide much needed information? What did you do or provide that helped your customer move forward?
For some businesses, they benefit their customers by always having what their customers need when they need it; for others, they're the low-cost providers; for others, they're the 'experts' - no one does it better. The list could go on and on. The point is, the benefits I just identified above were not snazzy, flashy terms. They were basic. Not once did I say, Comprehensive, Full-service, Multi-disciplined, or some other grandiose, non- specific descriptor. Most customers won't refer to you as a full- service provider anyway; they'll say something like "There's nothing you guys don't know about widgets." That's quite a compliment and a nudge towards making you the 'Widget Experts'.
Whatever the answer to "Why you?"--It will help you target your marketing activities toward others who have similar needs. We all know we can't be all things to all people, so be the answer to those customers who will benefit the most from your products and services. By knowing your customers consider you the 'Widget Experts', you can now focus your marketing and sales efforts toward those who need a widget expert. You could even adjust some of your marketing materials to state: Have problems with your Widgets? We can help. We're the Widget Experts.
Our customers want to move forward and not deal with issues, headaches, and frustrations any longer than necessary. They want help and they'll pay for it. So why not be the answer they're seeking? Why you? Why not?

Liz Weber of Weber Business Services, LLC. WBS specializes in Strategic, Business, and Succession Planning, as well as employee and leadership training. Liz can be reached at mailto: liz@wbsllc.com or (717) 597-8890